As it’s coming up to Easter, I decided to make some peanut butter chocolate bonbons. Armed with a digital candy thermometer and my SousVide Supreme, I was able to make these delectable chocolate mini eggs with very little hassle. My finished chocolate bonbons were glossy and smooth. The dark bitter chocolate and creamy sweet peanut butter filling makes for a very delicious Easter chocolate.

Ingredients

Peanut Filing

• ½ tablespoon (8g) of salted butter
• 2 and ½ tablespoons (37mls) of peanut butter (crunchy works well)
• ¼ cup (17g) of powdered sugar

Tempered chocolate

• 3oz (85g) dark chocolate
• 1.5 oz (21g) of dark chocolate

Decoration

• White/ Colored icing pen

Filling

Method

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter and peanut butter together over a low heat.
2. Once the butter has melted and the peanut butter has softened, add the powdered sugar and stir well to combine.
3. Pour the mixture in a small bowl and leave to cool at room temperature.
4. Once cool, cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
5. Put the bowl in the fridge to chill while you make the chocolate molds.

Recipe for tempering chocolate taken from here

1. Before making the chocolate molds, you must first temper the chocolate.
2. Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 115F/46C.
3. Put 3oz (85 g) of dark chocolate into a Pyrex bowl or heat proof bowl.
4. Carefully place the bowl into the water oven and let it float. Do not cover the water oven with the lid.
5. Stir the chocolate occasionally with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, being very careful not to drip water into the chocolate, until it reached 115F/46C when measured with a candy thermometer or digital thermometer.
6. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the water oven, taking care to wipe the bottom of the bowl with a dry cloth.
7. Reset the water oven to 90F/32C. Add cold water or a few ice cubes to hasten the temperature drop.
8. Meanwhile, add the remaining 1.5 ounces (21 g) of the chocolate to the melted chocolate and stir. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 82F/27C on the thermometer. (Note: If room temperature is hot (above 82F/27C), place the bowl of melted chocolate very briefly over a bowl of ice to help bring the temperature down to the target.
9. Return the bowl of chocolate to the water oven and let the chocolate come back up to 90F/32C, as measured on the thermometer. The temperature of the chocolate will quickly reach this target and remain there while you work.

Chocolate Molds

I recommend using a silicone candy mold, as it is much easier to remove the chocolate candy from silicone than any other material.

1. Once the chocolate has been tempered, use a small clean paintbrush and carefully brush the chocolate into the inner shell of the mold, ensuring all sides are covered in chocolate.
2. Once the molds have been covered with chocolate, place the silicone mold in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
3. Carefully place the bowl of chocolate back into the water oven and allow it to come back up to temperature (90F/ 32C). Check with a candy thermometer or digital thermometer.
4. After ten minutes in the freezer remove the molds.
5. Take the filing out of the fridge and break it up into small balls with your hands.
6. Press the balls of filling directly into the chocolate molds.
7. Take the tempered chocolate from the water bath and paint a chocolate layer on top to seal the filing.
8. Once all the chocolates have been painted, put the mold back in the freezer and chill for 15-20 minutes.
9. Once chilled, remove the mold from the freezer and turn the chocolates out onto a plate.
10. To further embellish the chocolates, you can decorate them with dots and spirals using a colored icing pen.